This evening I want to write about something amazing I recently was able to participate in. It was the first meeting of the Pharmacogenomics Advisory Group. This group, chaired by Issam Zineh is pretty amazing. Let me tell you why.

1. Members of PAG have been involved in pharmacogenomic studies involving most if not all current markers
2. They include members/contributors of PharmGKB, FDA, AAPS award winners, Howard MacLeod, I could go on and on.....and one lowly blogger and clinical personalized medicine specialist.....
3. The group was willing to engage in active criticism of each other and of ideas. That is the key to a great advisory group.

While we see the dropping costs of genotyping going further and further with some quoting a 10k genome by June's end, it is becoming crystal clear that the test is not the product. The test is a razor handle. Seriously. It will be given away free. But the question is, what will we do with it.

Coriell is aiming to answer some of these questions and is engaging in ethical research. Coriell is the cohort study that we will turn as we turn to Framingham. When the next decade closes we will sit back and laugh at how all of the VCs dumped money into supposed 1000 gene tests that gave nearly useless results or results that couldn't be used for what they needed to be used for by Terms of Service......

At the same time, we will see how a sleepy little institution in Camden NJ, known for holding cells became a powerhouse in the Personalized Medicine Movement by holding patient lives and medical data......with a little help from their friends........

The Sherpa Says: If you haven't joined the CPMC, you should. They are climbing the mountain skillfully